Chapter 39 Undeserved Favor "Why not go and find Lord Pei?"
After the Shangsi Festival, Meng Lingyao was indeed quiet for a while. In life and in business, it's important to maintain a balance; always being in the public eye diminishes one's mystique, and even if one is extremely attractive, it loses its charm.
This was especially true for Zhao Xu. She deliberately reduced opportunities to meet him, declining all invitations from outside. If she could see him so easily, how could she make him miss him so much?
Furthermore, having learned from the mistakes of people like Lu Heming and Zhou Yizhi, Meng Lingyao was even more cautious this time, no longer easily choosing someone to entrust her life to.
We need to spend more time investigating whether this person has two faces.
As she pondered, her hands continued their work, her fingertips lightly brushing her cheek, spreading a delicate red hue. The red, covering her face, appeared as if a natural pink hue emanating from her skin, utterly natural.
She nodded in satisfaction, finally having mixed the red she wanted. She scribbled a few notes on a piece of paper, slightly modifying the proportions of the watercolor powder, and finalized the recipe.
"Songlan, go and fetch that lotus root pink dress."
"yes."
The clothes were quickly delivered, and Meng Lingyao changed into them. She then selected several pieces of plain silver jewelry to adorn herself, checking them one by one in the bronze mirror.
She always believed that beauty is holistic; a face alone or just one or two pieces of jewelry is not enough. When she had free time, she would mix a few different cosmetics and rearrange her clothes and jewelry, and half a day would pass by in a flash. She enjoyed this very much.
Just as she finished dressing, Cang Dian came in from outside and said, "Miss, Manager Qian from Juxianglou requests an audience."
"Please come in."
As Meng Lingyao stepped into the front hall, Manager Qian hurriedly put down his teacup and said, "Greetings to Miss."
"Please have a seat, Manager Qian." Meng Lingyao asked, "What brings you here today?"
Shopkeeper Qian rubbed his hands, embarrassed, and said, "Miss, it's just that the perfume you sent before is... sold out again."
Meng Lingyao frowned. "Didn't we just send over a lot? How come they're all used up so quickly?"
After learning that her casually prepared perfume was selling well, she specially asked the maids in the courtyard to make more and send it to Juxianglou.
“Miss, you are unaware of this,” Manager Qian said with beaming eyes. “These days, the perfume business in the shop is booming. We can sell more than ten bottles a day. I specifically asked the maids and servants who come to buy it, and I learned that a young lady used it at a banquet. The fragrance is elegant and unique, and many young ladies like it very much. They specially sent people to buy it.”
"Young Miss?" Meng Lingyao seemed to be thinking.
“It was a Miss Xie,” Manager Qian recalled. “The shop assistant said that all of his young lady’s close friends had been asking her about the origin of this perfume.”
Meng Lingyao suddenly realized and couldn't help but smile. It must be Xie Chengyu.
She had indeed given her a lot of homemade perfumes before, but she never expected that she would give her such a big surprise in return.
"Manager Qian, how's business at Juxianglou's food and beverage section lately?" Meng Lingyao put away her smile and asked about serious matters.
Shopkeeper Qian's joy immediately faded, and he said with a wry smile, "To be honest, it's really not good. The shops that used to deliver vegetables and meat to us all say that we use too little. If this continues, I'm afraid that when the previous contract expires, we won't be able to renew it at the current price."
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingyao reached out and took the ledger to examine it closely. She noticed that the entry for "fragrant dew" initially started as a small note in the margin, with just a few strokes in the corner. However, the entry gradually increased, and in the latest records, the restaurant's actual business became secondary. She secretly calculated that she knew the cost of the fragrant dew. She only needed to give the prepared recipe to a few maids in the courtyard to make it in their spare time, and she could obtain a large quantity in a short period of time. The materials used were also common and readily available flowers and herbs.
She picked up the abacus and started calculating rapidly, her eyes gradually brightening. This perfume business was indeed profitable.
Meng Lingyao lightly tapped the table with her fingertips and said to Manager Qian, "If we close the restaurant..."
Before he could finish speaking, Manager Qian knelt down with a thud. "Miss, my whole family depends on this restaurant for a living. Please, I beg you..."
"..."
"Cang Dian, quickly help Manager Qian up."
"Please let me finish. What I want to ask is, what if we close the restaurant and focus solely on the perfume business?"
Shopkeeper Qian paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh and got up from the ground. He stroked his beard, thought carefully for a while, and replied, "That's a good idea. The profits from the fragrant dew are substantial, and it doesn't require too many people. However..."
"Just what?"
"But this perfume is mostly used by women. If we want to expand the business, we'll need to pay more attention to appearances and packaging," Manager Qian said hesitantly. "Especially since the ladies you visit are all noble ladies like yourself."
“What the shopkeeper thinks coincides with my own thoughts.” Meng Lingyao nodded slowly.
If you want to run a good business selling perfumes, the best approach is to be like the elegant and unique Linlang Pavilion in the capital, with interior decorations that match the aesthetics of the times, and a focus on quality over quantity.
The next day, Meng Lingyao took some time to visit Juxianglou. After walking around the restaurant, she increasingly felt that the first floor was rather cramped. A few solid wood tables took up most of the space, and the display cabinet behind the counter was crammed with wine jars. If she wanted to renovate it according to her ideas, this space probably wouldn't be enough.
"Miss, is there anything amiss?" Manager Qian asked cautiously, following behind her.
Meng Lingyao frowned. "The place is too small."
Manager Qian coughed lightly and pointed to the rice shop next door that was sealed off. "What do you think of that place?"
He lowered his voice and said, "Before the seizure, I visited the place a few times. The front hall was about the same size as ours, and there were two storerooms in the back. If we take them all down, that should be enough."
Meng Lingyao accompanied him to the entrance to take a look. Just by looking at the entrance, she knew that the interior was quite large.
Manager Qian gestured and said, "If we can get through this, it will be more than enough to do business with us. Right now, there's internal turmoil within the Zhou family, and Miss Zhou seems to be scaling back since she took over the business. Recently, many shops have been being sold off..."
As they were talking, a servant in green approached them and bowed respectfully, saying, "This servant greets Miss Meng."
Seeing Meng Lingyao's surprised expression, he took the initiative to explain, "I serve Miss Zhou and have had the pleasure of seeing you a few times. I didn't mean to eavesdrop just now; I just happened to overhear your conversation with the shopkeeper. You... are you interested in buying this shop?"
Meng Lingyao nodded, "That's indeed the intention."
The servant then said, "My young lady is currently busy with this matter. If Miss Meng doesn't mind, I can convey her message."
"Thank you for your trouble." Meng Lingyao smiled slightly. "Please give my regards to Miss Zhou."
Within a few days, Meng Lingyao received a letter from Zhou Xiwen, inviting her to meet him at one of the Zhou family's villas. A maid led her to a teahouse by the water, and upon entering, she found Zhou Xiwen asleep, his chin resting on his hand, the account books on the table still open. A wolf-hair brush lay beside the inkstone, the ink still wet.
The maid was about to speak when Meng Lingyao raised her hand to stop her. The maid hesitated for a moment, then slowly retreated.
Meng Lingyao quietly took her seat and waited.
The tea was about to boil, and before the teapot could even hiss, she quickly picked up the cup, poured herself a drink, and slowly sipped it. She had only finished half a cup when she heard a slight movement from across the table.
"Lingyao!" Zhou Xiwen covered his face, his voice muffled, "I actually fell asleep... I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's alright." Meng Lingyao pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea towards you. "You've just woken up, and the tea is at the perfect temperature to drink."
Zhou Xiwen took the teacup, sipped a few mouthfuls, and said, "It's been so noisy at home lately that I had no choice but to move here for some peace and quiet. But it's been too quiet, and I didn't realize it until now..."
"Please excuse my poor attempt."
"What are you laughing at?" Meng Lingyao said with a smile, "I should thank Miss Zhou, otherwise I wouldn't have had the pleasure of admiring this beautiful woman sleeping in spring for so long."
"You," Zhou Xiwen said with a smile, tapping the tip of her nose.
After finishing their tea, Zhou Xiwen got straight to the point, "I heard from Qingzhu that you're interested in taking over that rice shop in the East Market?"
Meng Lingyao didn't shy away from the topic and frankly replied, "Indeed."
“This is a small matter, and I would even give it to you.” She paused, a troubled look on her face. “It’s just that the shop was previously used by my father and brothers as a cover, and it has now been seized by the Dali Temple.”
Meng Lingyao's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Zhou Xiwen sighed softly, "As you know, I promised Lord Pei that I would hand over all ill-gotten gains to assist the court in thoroughly investigating the smuggling of salt and iron. This shop is also on the list of items to be handed over, so... I don't have the authority to make that decision right now."
With her fingertips gently caressing the teacup, Meng Lingyao lowered her eyelashes.
A swallow suddenly flew past outside the teahouse, startling a curtain of catkins. Zhou Xiwen seemed to remember something, and abruptly moved closer, the faint scent of benzoin emanating from her. "Since you're so interested, sister..." she smiled slyly, "why not go and seek out Lord Pei?"
"Why not go and find Lord Pei?"
Two days have passed since she returned from the Zhou family, but Zhou Xiwen's words still echo in Meng Lingyao's ears from time to time.
She was never one to hesitate.
Just thinking about Pei Xu's sudden cold attitude made her inexplicably irritable.
She even thought... she thought...
Never mind, that would make her seem like she's just being presumptuous.
A moment of distraction led to a heavier touch; what should have been a one-inch trimming of the peach branch suddenly became three inches shorter, and the desired shape was lost.
"Tsk."
She dropped the scissors and lost interest in pruning the flowers.
"Miss, why aren't you cutting them?" Songlan asked. "Didn't we say we were going to use peach blossoms in a vase? They would have been a perfect match for that white porcelain vase."
"I don't want to cut anymore." Meng Lingyao pushed the peach petals scattered on the table with her fingers, gathering them into a small pile before stopping.
“Then—” Songlan racked her brains, “How about we go and take a look at Juxianglou? Manager Qian just sent word that the shop has been renovated and skilled craftsmen have been found. Construction can officially begin once the adjacent shop is connected.”
Mentioning that shop stirred up the restless butterflies in Meng Lingyao's heart, making her uneasy.
That won't work.
She frowned, slammed her hand on the table and stood up, causing peach petals to flutter everywhere.
"Indigofera tinctoria".
"Hey!"
"Go find Shen Xiaoshan, I need to talk to him."
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